Cooking with Blobby

Wow. A cooking segment. 

Look how far I've come in seven weeks. 

I haven't look back to see the last time I've done one of these, but at the very earliest it would be early to mid-August. 

But I'm in a place where I can move around the kitchen and get things done - as long as I don't have to bend over to get kitchen items or ingredients. And hopes I don't drop anything on the ground that a grabber can't pick-up. 

710 found the recipe for Tomato Basil Chicken Breasts and it intrigued me. I feel bad that he's done all the cooking for the last six weeks. Technically he didn't have to cook (and didn't) that week I was in the hospital. Oh, he may have cooked once or twice. Who knows. But in the six weeks I've been home, he's done the lion share (read: all.   except when we were out of town).

I was feeling ambitious in my recovery and said, "oh, what the heck". 

So, let's see if I can fuck this up. 

Ingredients 

Yield: 2 servings 

I'm going to stop here for a moment. Two servings? 1 large chicken breast?  For 2 servings?????

I'm a grown ass man with a grown ass appetite. I'll let 710 defer for himself, but......c'mon. Let's just say we doubled at the least the chicken. Oh, and everything else. 

2 small boneless skinless chicken breasts (about ¾ pound) or 1 large chicken breast, halved horizontally Salt and pepper 

¼ cup all-purpose flour 

3 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided

1 tablespoon olive oil 

2 tablespoons diced shallots (about 1 medium shallot) 

12 ounces assorted tomatoes, small ones halved and medium and large cut in wedges 

1 tablespoon capers in brine, drained 

½ teaspoon red wine vinegar 

Plenty of basil leaves (large leaves torn), for serving 

Preparation 

Step 1 Season the chicken breasts all over with salt and pepper. Add the flour to a shallow bowl or plate. Dredge the chicken by placing it in the flour, then turning to coat all sides evenly. 

Step 2 Heat 2 tablespoons of butter and the olive oil in a medium skillet over medium. When the mixture is bubbling, shake off any excess flour from the chicken and add to the skillet. Cook, undisturbed, until golden brown, about 4 minutes. Flip the pieces over and continue cooking until cooked through, about 4 more. Transfer the chicken to two serving plates. 

Step 3 Add the shallots to the pan and cook, stirring, until softened and lightly caramelized, about 2 minutes. Stir in the tomatoes and ⅓ cup water (this helps create more sauce and helps the tomatoes cook more quickly). Simmer until the sauce is reduced by about half, about 3 minutes. 

Step 4 Stir in the capers, the remaining 1 tablespoon butter and the vinegar. Turn off the heat and season with salt. 

Step 5 To serve, top the chicken with the basil leaves and the tomato sauce and season with black pepper.

......and I fucked it up.  Basil is in the name of the fucking recipe. Basil was sitting out on the counter. Basil did not go in the dish because Blobby is a fuck-up. 

I think it would have been a great addition to the dish, but guess what - it was pretty fucking good even without it. 

I was kind of worried that tomatoes and water weren't really going to make a sauce - and just leave me with stewed tomatoes. Sure the butter at the end helped, but the shallots were great and if I did this again (and I will), I'd double the capers. 

The chicken was prepared well. The sauce and warmed tomatoes were well seasoned and cooked just right. The sauce was light but flavourful. 

This is a repeat for sure.  .....but next time with basil.